The Box
by Saengak
Summary: Mei stumbles into Naruto's Rehabilitation Centre for sad endings.


Mei blinked, confused by the bright white room that she found herself in. "Where am I?" she murmured, casting her gaze about. All she could see were bare walls and a single door, also painted a plain white. Mei hesitated, wondering whether she should open it.

Before she could decide, the door swung open and revealed a familiar blonde. "Naruto?!" Mei exclaimed, her eyes widening at the young boy that stood beaming in the doorway.

The last she'd seen the jinchuuriki, they were on the battlefield, fighting Madara. Although he was still wearing the same eye-searing orange, this Naruto had to be several years younger, his face chubbier and his eyes brighter. "You're here!" he said happily, reaching out to take her hand. "Welcome! We need you here very much. You're just in time, dattebayo!"

"What?" Mei frowned as she allowed the boy to pull her along through the door. Immediately the bright white light was gone, along with the door. A warmer, golden light filled the room that they had entered. It was a child's room, although it looked more like an eccentric hoarder's storage room than anything else. There were shelves and shelves of shoebox-sized boxes arranged along each wall, each one meticulously labelled in childish handwriting. Mei rounded the table at the centre cautiously, wondering at the whole loaves of white bread piled there and the stacks of freshly laundered towels in the laundry basket below. Rain pattered at the window, partially obscuring the village that was outside, and the small plant on the window sill seemed to lean towards it. It was all strangely homely, and utterly baffling to Mei. "Where is this?"

Naruto threw out his arms with a bright smile. "The Rehabilitation Centre! It's the place for people who—" Cupping his to his mouth, the boy leaned in with a theatrical whisper. "—have been left in very sad situations." Then he straightened again with a bounce of his feet. "I rescue them from their universes and arrange for adoptions, dattebayo!"

Mei glanced about worriedly. People? Mei couldn't see any people, only boxes. "But—"

Naruto hopped about excitedly, going from one crammed shelf to the other. "I may not look it, but I have the powers of the Sage of Six Paths, and even more! I can travel to whichever universe I want, so I help rescue everyone who needs rescuing, dattebayo! Ohh, here we are!"

Mei peered suspiciously at the nondescript box that Naruto had carefully pulled out and set on the table. It was labelled "Aos". A gasp escaped her, trepidation filling her when several soft squeaks emitted from the air holes punched into the box.

She reached for it, terrified, but Naruto grabbed her hand before she could. "Wait, you have to be careful! I've shrunken them down so they'd be easier to care for, but they're vulnerable because of their size. You have to be careful with them. A lot of them are also really traumatised, dattebayo."

"Traumatised?" Mei whispered, horrified. The last time she'd seen Ao he'd been his usual snappy self. But the war had been going horribly. Mei was almost certain that she was dead and this was her melting brain misfiring. But what if...?

Naruto nodded with uncharacteristic solemness. "These are Aos from various universes. Have you heard of multiverse theory? You're a Mei from one of the universes where the Fourth War was won by the Shinobi Alliance. These Aos came from other worlds— some of them come from unfinished fanfics, others from angsty drabbles and one-shots, but all of them had lost their Meis one way or another. But an Ao always needs a Mei."

This was staggering information to Mei, and she wasn't sure she understood all of it. Fanfics? Drabbles? What were all those?

A sudden thought struck her. "What happened to my Ao? The one from my universe?"

Naruto squeezed her hand. "He's alive. He's still continuing on, even though you're..."

Mei was dead and Ao wasn't. She was immeasurably relieved, but her heart ached thinking how much he would grieve for her.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said sincerely, his blue eyes sad. "But you have my word that he'll be alright. You may not realise, but your universe is a kind one to Aos. There are many who are not so lucky."

With that, Naruto carefully opened the box.

Mei gasped as a whole group of miniature Aos scrambled for cover, moving so fast that Mei only caught a glimpse of a familiar haori and tiny legs before they dove for safety. The fluffy cream-coloured towel that lined the inside of the box was slightly too large, resulting in folds and creases at the edges, which the Aos obviously thought were wonderfully defensible positions. They had wriggled under a corner of the towel that had been folded over, and were being very quiet.

Mei stared in shock. There were fairy lights taped along the inside of the box, connected to a small battery pack in the corner. A tiny tub of water sat in middle of the box, together with a dish of breadcrumbs, while what looked like a litterbox was shoved into the far corner.

"Wow..." Mei breathed. "How many Aos are there?"

"Five, dattebayo" Naruto said cheerfully. "I rescued them all!"

One of the tiny Aos popped his head out from under the bit of towel he was hiding under, his eyes wide with shock. "M-Mei?" His voice was higher than she remembered, due to his small size. "Is that you?"

"Yes," she exclaimed, feeling excitement bubble up in her. "Ao, you're so tiny!" She reached out with her hand and the tiny Ao darted forward, his turquoise hoari fluttering behind him as he threw himself against her hand. He hugged her hand tightly and buried his face against it. "Ao? What happened?"

The tiny Ao seemed overcome with emotion. "I... I'd lost you. I'd lost you in the war. Mei, _Mei_, I missed you so much."

Mei felt tears gather in her eyes. "Ao, I'm here." She felt him squeeze her hand tighter. He was so very small, and light as a feather even as he leaned his whole weight against her.

She couldn't hug him back, so she used her other finger to stroke down his shaking back. He squeaked. "M-Mei."

Squirming away, his colour high on his cheeks, he let go of her hand. Mei smiled. He hurried to the fold of the towel where the other Aos were hiding and she suddenly realised that there were many other tiny Aos staring at her. One of them flinched back the moment they noticed her, but there were others who grew bold enough to crawl out from their hiding place. The first Ao urged them forward, and soon there was a small gathering of three new Aos craning their necks back at her in awe.

"Mizukage-sama!"

"Mei-sama!"

"_Mizukage-sama_..."

Two of them were as Mei remembered him during the Fourth War, ANBU uniform and all, while one was obviously younger, his uniform dating back to the days of their revolution. Revolution era Ao was beaming with pride now that he had set their eyes on an older Mei who had successfully become Mizukage, and the older Aos were drinking in the sight of her like they had been starving for decades. She smiled at each of them, hoping that they would feel her joy at seeing them all, and almost spontaneously, the youngest broke down weeping.

Alarmed, Mei reached out to him and he clung onto her hand like the first Ao had, heartbreakingly small sounds escaping him as sobs wracked his tiny frame. The other Aos looked on uncomfortably, but not unsympathetically. They understood, after all, how horrible it was to lose their Meis. And that Ao had lost her so, so early.

Mei's heart broke as she watched the first Ao pat the back of the youngest. "Come, sit on my shoulder?" Mei suggested, and the youngest Ao nodded, dashing furiously at his eyes.

He climbed onto her cupped palm and she lifted him carefully to her shoulder, settling him there and giving him a strand of her hair to hold onto. "There you go. And the rest of you?"

Pretty soon, she had four Aos hanging onto her. The first Ao she'd met was sprawled on her head, another was sat beside the youngest Ao on her right shoulder, and yet other sat on her left. They each held onto a strand of hair of their own, and Mei giggled at the absurdity of it all. Naruto beamed back at her, looking as if he might burst from joy.

But it was worrying that there was still one Ao who had not come out from his hiding place. Mei peered at the folded bit of towel in consternation.

"He is a post-war Ao," one of the older Aos explained, looking haunted. "He has lost several limbs."

Mei's stomach sank. Was that what awaited her Ao too? "It's okay," she said resolutely, hoping that the Ao hiding from her would hear. "I'll always love each and every Ao, no matter what happens."

The towel covering the remaining Ao trembled.

"Can I meet you, please?" Mei asked softly, crouching down close to the box.

"It's Mizukage-sama!" the first Ao shouted. "We've been waiting for her for so long, you've got to at least meet her!"

After a long moment, a blue fluff of hair finally appeared at the edge of the towel. It was streaked with more grey than the other Aos. As the Ao shuffled out slightly, a fearful blue-grey eye blinked up at her from a bandaged face. The bandages covered the right side of his face, obscuring the place where his Byakugan had been, and wrapped around his head.

Mei kept her smile firmly on her face even though her heart squeezed painfully at the sight of his scarred face. "Hi," she breathed.

The Ao trembled as he pushed back the towel, revealing—

Oh.

The Ao cringed and looked down, his hands burying into the thick towel beneath him and clutching at the strands. He was missing his left arm, the bandaged stub obvious in the short-sleeved hospital gown he was dressed in. His left leg was gone too, below the knee, and more painful-looking scars were carved across his remaining limbs.

"I..." Mei's words choked in her throat. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you..." Mei held out her hands and scooped him carefully into her palm. He fumbled and squeaked, unbalanced, and ended up laying curled up in her hands. Nervous and trembling, he stared at her with a painfully ashamed look on his face as Mei lifted him up.

The gentle kiss that she pressed to his head caught him by surprise, and he made a soft hiccuping noise.

"Mei..." he whispered, his eyes shiny with moisture. Hope and disbelief warred on his face. "Don't cry." He leaned up and reverently pressed a kiss to the base of her thumb. Then he hugged her finger the best he could with one arm, his face buried against her skin as his chest heaved. "Mei..."

Mei wiped away her tears with a choked laugh. When her vision cleared, he was smiling tentatively. "My brave Ao. Thank you for waiting for me." He clung onto her, hiding his face again.

With one Ao in her hands and four more on her head and shoulders, Mei turned to Naruto once more. The boy was sniffing loudly. "That's so wonderful, dattebayo! You're going to adopt all of them, right?"

Mei could feel the injured Ao's grip tighten on her hand, a shudder coursing through his frail body. The other Aos were also very quiet, suddenly afraid of what she might say.

"Of course," Mei replied, frowning. "I'm not leaving anyone behind!"

Naruto nodded rapidly, his smile growing even bigger. "They need you, so please take care of them well! Once they feel ready, they will pop back to their original size, so be prepared."

"Oh my," Mei said, looking down at her tiny Aos. Some looked relieved, but others less so.

"I think I'd better stay small," her injured Ao murmured quietly.

"Only if you want," Mei said firmly. "I'm sure we can get some prosthetic limbs for you." That got her a hesitant smile, and her heart ached. "But Naruto, where are we? What world is this?" Mei glanced out of the misted window at the village beyond. She did not recognise it.

Naruto's expression grew cheeky. "This is my village, of course! The shopping mall is just outside, and I've already arranged somewhere for you all to stay. Don't worry, Mizukage-sama. This is universe is Happily Ever After!"

* * *

**A/N:** I love those kinds of fanart where there are multiple chibi versions of a character climbing over their SO, so here's a fanfic version of that XD


End file.
